Analyzing Social Policy (ePub)

From formulation to implementation, an approach to the analysis
of social policy through the lens of research

Analyzing Social Policy prepares professionals and
students to make better informed decisions related to identifying
and understanding the intricacies and potential impact of social
policymaking and enactment on their organization as well as their
individual responsibilities, goals, and objectives.

Authors Mary Katherine O'Connor and F. Ellen Netting thoroughly
examine various approaches to the analysis of social policies and
how these approaches provide the knowledge, multiple perspectives,
and other resources to understand and grasp the nuances of social
policy in all its complexity.

Comprehensive and based on research, Analyzing Social Policy
explores:

* An overview of the practice of social policy analysis

* The role of research in guiding policy analysis

* The idea of policy analyses as research

* Themes, assumptions, and major theories that undergird rational
models of policy analysis

* Nonrational themes, assumptions, and major theories informing
nontraditional interpretive and critical approaches to policy
analysis

* Strategies for applying selected models and approaches when
engaging in policy analysis as research

Providing practitioners and students with a set of tools that
can be used to enhance an understanding of what constitutes policy
as well as acceptable standards for critical analysis of policy,
this resource enables policy advocates--regardless of their
level--to be political, strategic, and critical in their
work.